


Old-Fashioned

by AnxiousClarinetCat



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Awkward Conversations, Awkward Crush, Gen, Gender-neutral Reader, Good Older Sibling Nezu | Piers (Pokemon), I just wanted soft bonding, Marine Is Too Amused, Nezu | Piers Has An Accent, Pining, The Reader Is Awkward And Soft, The reader's lil crush actually became more of a background thing oops
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-05
Updated: 2020-11-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:09:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27404068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnxiousClarinetCat/pseuds/AnxiousClarinetCat
Summary: People say that when you're struggling, you should ask the most experienced person you know for advice.These people clearly don't understand the crippling horror of asking your best friend's (admittedly adorable) older brother. Hey, in your defense, he was the only one who could help.
Relationships: Nezu | Piers (Pokemon) & Reader, Nezu | Piers (Pokemon)/Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 68





	Old-Fashioned

**Author's Note:**

> *claps* The reader is a MESS, your Honor.
> 
> This was literally jumpstarted by me looking up Sword and Shield to finally find out who the first Dark-type leader is and swooning immediately. I'm sorry; I can't resist an emo with a heart of gold.
> 
> Enjoy... *vague hand gestures in place of words* ...this.

You like to think of yourself as a pretty resilient person. After all, no one has ever improved without failure!

Then again, getting your butt kicked by Raihan three times in a row is a bit much. You’re not sure at this point which is hurting your team more: the constant sandstorms or Raihan’s tendency to dynamax.

You refuse to dynamax. For some reason, the change terrifies your Pokemon, and you have no interest in forcing them to do anything that scares them.

On the other hand though, it’s hard to beat such large creatures when your fighter is about a fourth of its opponent’s size.

Long story short, you need some serious guidance. Lucky for you, you know exactly who can help.

You trek down the path heading back to Spikemuth. A quick check on the odd little club Piers and his crew usually occupy lets you know that there’s no concert today. If you want to find him, you’ll have to search elsewhere.

So, you run to Marine’s house, and knock noisily on the door. She answers pretty quickly with a tired, “Yeah? Oh, hey.”

You smile. You haven’t talked to her in a couple of days, and it’s nice to see her, but you’re not here for small talk today.

“I need to see your brother.”

Marnie tilts her head, lips just beginning to twitch into an amused smile. “Piers? Why d’you wanna talk to him?”

You burn red. Marnie always had the idea that you had a crush on him, which isn’t true!

Not really, anyways. Who wouldn’t find Piers at least a little attractive after all? He’s very handsome, and plenty kind despite his rough appearance. Not to mention the fact that he sings like an angel--

Okay, maybe you have just a  _ tiny  _ crush.

Swallowing your pride, you fix your eyes firmly on the opposite wall. “I want to talk battle strategies. Piers was the hardest gym leader I faced.” You leave out the bit about dynamaxing, since almost everyone you know is so attached to it.

Marnie actually laughs at this. 

“What?”

She grins. “ _ Hardest?” _

_ “Shut up!” _

She snickers a moment more, then gestures vaguely up the stairs. “Okay, okay. He’s up in his room, last I knew. You know where it is, right?”

You nod, and try to walk not too slow yet not too fast up the stairs.

When you reach his door, it actually takes a moment for you to gather enough courage to knock. After what feels like a long time, you tap twice, quietly.

There’s no response. Gulping down the growing thought that this is a terrible idea, you knock again.

Still nothing. Frowning, you mutter, “Piers? Hello?”

This time, there’s...something. It’s not exactly an answer, but it’s definitely a voice, too quiet for you to make out.

You lean in close to try and make out the words. The voice sounds again, this time with a little bit of a laugh thrown in.

You realize with a surge of indignation that he’s playing with you. Well, two can play at that game, and you happen to be pretty good at it.

You place a hand on the doorknob, grinning as you find that it turns, unlocked. Then, in one smooth yet silent motion, you fling the door open.

And, as you often seem to do, you immediately find yourself in  _ way  _ over your head.

Piers is here alright, but from the looks of him, he has no clue that you are. He’s sprawled flat on his back in bed, wearing headphones turned up so loud that you can hear the quiet buzz of electric guitar from where you’re standing. His eyes are shut, foot tapping leisurely along to the beat, and every so often, he half-sings a line or two.

You gulp. Oh boy. Somehow, Piers is even more handsome like this than when you usually see him. Something about the atmosphere just seems so relaxed.

Suddenly, he moves. You want to run, you do, but your legs decide at that moment that freezing solid is a better idea.

Luckily, his eyes stay shut. All he does is roll over so he’s facing you directly, nestle a little further into the quilt, and fall still again with a low hum.

_ Cute! _ your mind yelps, and you’re tempted to agree. Now that you can see more clearly, you can’t help but notice that his expression is a strange mix between active joy and utter contentment, something you have never before seen him wear. It really suits him.

For some reason, his easy posture gives you enough courage to try and get his attention again.

_ “Piers?” _

Oops! You flinch. That was  _ loud,  _ way louder than you’d intended. Good news: you got Piers to snap out of his emo-music haze and take off the headphones; bad news: he’s looking directly at you, and you’ve never been so aware of how  _ piercing  _ his eyes are.

“Hm? What d’ _ you _ want?” he mumbles, voice blurred with annoyance.

You should respond. You should say something.

Of course, life wouldn’t be right if you were good at things like this, so you just stand there, dead silent.

In true Piers fashion, he bolts upright, rubbing the drowsiness from his eyes as he asks, “Did somethin’ happen? Is it Marnie? Is she okay?”

You flail. “No, Marnie’s fine, everything’s fine!”

He raises an eyebrow, waiting for an explanation. Shyly, you mumble, “I just wanted to ask you a question, that’s all.”

Wow. You couldn’t have worded that one worse if you  _ tried.  _

To your surprise, however, he doesn’t make fun of you, or snap at you to get out of his room. Instead, his posture slumps, and he falls lazily back against the headboard. “‘Kay. What do ya need?”

You stare at your shoes awkwardly. “Uh, well, I’m having trouble getting past Raihan’s gym. The weather conditions keep taking everyone down before they can get in any damage.”

Piers nods, looking slightly bemused. You take a deep breath. It looks like you’re just going to have to ask him outright.

“Can you teach me?” you blurt.

He folds one arm behind his head, fixing you with a gaze more calculating than before. “What am I teachin’ you, exactly?”

“How to fight! Your team is really well-balanced, and you’re all really in-sync, and--” You pause to catch your breath. While you do, Piers sighs dismissively.

“Look, I already told you, I’m not a great gym leader. Why don’ you ask Leon? He and Raihan battle all the time.”

“Because Leon  _ dynamaxes! _ ” you splutter. 

A tense silence drops. Oops. You hadn’t meant to be so harsh about it. You love the Champion, you really do, but you don’t think you’ll be able to keep your mouth shut if he suggests you dynamax.

You have to fight to keep your eyes on Piers; he’s downright  _ staring  _ at you now, and you’re not sure if you want him to stop or not.

Finally, he mutters a soft, “You’re opposed to dynamax too?”

You shrug awkwardly. “I’m not, but Rillaboom is. It scares her.” At his incredulous expression, you quickly add, “She can fight dynamaxed Pokemon fine! She just...doesn’t like being so big, I guess.”

Another long moment of quiet. You wonder if you said something wrong.

Suddenly, Piers jumps to his feet. You step back in surprise as he brushes by you, grabbing several Pokeballs off a cluttered table. Without another word, he marches out the door.

You watch his receding figure with watery eyes. What did you do? Is having scared Pokemon bad reasoning?

“You just gonna stand there?”

You blink, and Piers is fixing you with his sharp cyan gaze again.

“H-Huh?”

He rolls his eyes, but he’s smiling slightly. “You wanna train, right?”

You nod cautiously.

“‘Kay, so let’s go.”

“You’re not upset about Rillaboom, and the dynamaxing thing?”

He squints at you. “No? It makes sense. Ya can’t fight if you an’ your Pokemon ain’t in sync, right? Besides, I don' even like dynamaxing. Why would I be mad at ya?”

You just shake your head, relief forcing a dopey grin onto your face. Someone understands. _Really_ understands.

Even better, Piers is now grinning back at you. “You really are an odd one, I’ll give ya that”, he says, more to himself than to you.

“But you’ll still help me train?” you ask, doubt creeping into the back of your mind.

“ _ Yes _ , I’ll help you”, he drawls, laughing. “So stop panickin’ and follow me.”

You race down the stairs after him. Piers shouts a short, “We’re goin’ to the stadium, Marine! Take care of yourself!”

Marnie twists to look at you both. “Together?” she asks, that familiar teasing expression already coming into view.

“It’s for  _ training!”  _ you insist just as Piers groans, “Not like  _ that,  _ Marnie.”

His gaze catches yours. You freeze for a moment, but he cracks another soft smile. Your pulse rushes. He’s  _ way  _ too sweet for his own good.

“Mkay, have fun,” Marnie singsongs, snapping you out of your haze.

“We’ll be back”, is all he says in reply before turning and strolling out the door. You sprint to catch up, not able to hide your excitement.

Piers is going to show you how to fight.

And if Piers is teaching you, there’s no  _ way  _ you’ll lose.


End file.
